According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (who is easily the most accurate reporter of Apple’s unannounced upcoming products and features), we are in for some major change later this year.
With iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16, Apple intends to introduce “one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history,” according to Gurman’s sources. The aim is to transform the interface “for a new generation of users.” For iPhone and iPad, it’s going to be the biggest change since iOS 7, where Apple ditched the skeuomorphic design language in favor of a new flat design, changed lock screen, a control panel, and more. For macOS, it would be the biggest change since macOS Big Sur (macOS 11) in 2020.
The company has struggled to bring its AI efforts up to the level of its competitors, and recently suffered a setback when it announced its big new Siri features won’t be coming this year. There will certainly be new Apple Intelligence features as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16, but with a string of delays pushing the most exciting stuff back, all hopes are on a dramatic new interface to help drive excitement and demand.
According to the source, the interface is said to be based “loosely” on the Vision Pro software, which gives us pause–the Vision OS interface is good for a gaze-and-pinch interaction model but is rather simplistic compared to the expectations for iPhones or Macs. We hope “loosely” carries a lot of weight. Still, the article claims the overall goal is to make Apple’s various operating systems more consistent, instead of the jarring difference between icons, windows, and interface elements we see today.
The new interface will be unveiled at WWDC in June, and is expected to be the highlight of the new iOS and macOS. If history has taught us anything, it’s that it will have a mixed reception at best, as major design changes are almost always met with criticism at first.